Soriano out 6 weeks

**kcclones** · 06-12-2008, 09:37 AM

the problem isn't the 6 weeks that he is going to be out the hardest thing will be him coming back with strength. It took D Lee a full season to be back to normal. If soriano comes back with no pop in his bat he will be a lead off hitter that strikes out and doesn't hit the leadoff homers everyone loves.

**tejasclone** · 06-12-2008, 09:58 AM

Cards and Cubs will both be fine. Cards won 10-0 last night without Albert. Life goes on. I greatly look forward to the July 4-6 series in St. Louis. Plus the Cards and Cubs play 3 more games in August and 6 more in September. Lots of baseball left.

**Cy Heavy** · 06-12-2008, 10:29 AM

Call me crazy, but I'm not that worried about the team. If it's Dempster or Zambrano that goes down for six weeks then I'm worried. However, we did fine w/o Soriano earlier this year. I think this will also allow a hitter to bat leadoff who might look at a pitch or two before swinging away...
I am concerned about Soriano though, espeically given how long it took Lee to comeback when his hand was injured. Hope he can be at full strength for the stretch run.

**psychlone99** · 06-12-2008, 10:31 AM

Originally Posted by nickborton

the problem isn't the 6 weeks that he is going to be out the hardest thing will be him coming back with strength. It took D Lee a full season to be back to normal. If soriano comes back with no pop in his bat he will be a lead off hitter that strikes out and doesn't hit the leadoff homers everyone loves.

Exactly. I worry that we've effectively lost Soriano until September. Let's say he's fully healed by August (6-7 weeks), with an emphasis on HEALED. He may be healthy, but it will probably take Soriano awhile before he feels comfortable at the plate. I think he has two factors working against him in coming back from a hand injury: 1. He's a power hitter with an injured lead hand. 2. He's a pansy.

As we saw with D-Lee, a power hitter can really struggle after a significant hand injury. I don't remember which hand Lee injured, but I know the lead hand is critical to timing and power. Add to that Soriano's natural tentativeness, and you can probably kiss August goodbye. He'll basically be a power hitter with a tendency to strikeout, except he won't have any power.

So even if he's back by August, it could be a nightmare with him at the top of the order. I think the team could be hurt worse by a return in August than they will be while he's simply out of the lineup. Just my hunch, and I hope I'm dead wrong.

**CYdTracked** · 06-12-2008, 10:31 AM

I'm not worried about the Cubs, they have plenty of depth to sub in or make a trade which could be possible too. If its Z or Dempster then its a different story. I think the Cards have way more injury issues. Pujols carries that team for stretches and their starting pitching keeps getting hurt.

**Cy Heavy** · 06-12-2008, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by travman23

I'm not worried about the Cubs, they have plenty of depth to sub in or make a trade which could be possible too. If its Z or Dempster then its a different story. I think the Cards have way more injury issues. Pujols carries that team for stretches and their starting pitching keeps getting hurt.

If you'd have told me a year ago that losing Dempster would be catrostrophic I'd have laughed. Today I think it'd be worse than losing Soriano - weird.

**Rogue52** · 06-12-2008, 10:46 AM

If any of the all-stars on the team had to go, you want it to be Soriano.

**CloneFan65** · 06-12-2008, 12:10 PM

**ISUKyro** · 06-12-2008, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by CloneFan65

Pffft - that goat is long dead.

**CycloneErik** · 06-12-2008, 12:39 PM

No way this derails things for the Cubbies. It's way too early in the year, and not nearly heartbreaking enough to be a true source of Cubs pain. It hurts, but there's time to recover, and players to fill the void. If this were the death blow to the season, it would be much more dramatic, and late in the season.